Chapter 316: Fateseeker
Calmly, Uhtred traced the source of the inspection, then with a natural movement, turned to look at the person.
The inspection had come from somewhere behind him. More people had joined the line after he did, but they were few enough that Uhtred’s smooth glance allowed him to pinpoint the source directly.
He couldn’t see their eyes, since the person’s face was hidden beneath a hood, but their gazes crossed in that brief glance.
Uhtred turned back forward, acting casual, but internally he was lamenting yet again.
Why always me? Can’t I just have a single moment of peace?
Not only had he glanced at the figure, but in that fleeting instant, he had also activated the insight ability of his Gnostic Eye. Right now, he was extremely thankful for it, because he had uncovered information he otherwise wouldn’t have known.
An elf! A fucking elf right here inside human territory! And she’s a champion, too! For her to arrive right after I did and inspect me specifically... That’s definitely no coincidence.
Of course, Uhtred recognized he could just be acting paranoid. The elf might have simply sent a cursory inspection down the line, and he happened to be one of the closest targets.
However, that small shred of doubt was thoroughly squashed by the rest of what his Gnostic Eye revealed:
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[Name: Eifrith Ra’Elis]
[Species name: Elf]
[Level: 44]
[Core Grade: Unique]
[Class Name: Fateseeker]
[Core Rank: Nascent (Fate Esoteric Magic attuned)]
━━━
[Attributes]
Strength: 120
Agility: 145
Endurance: 136
𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞
Vitality: 357
Intelligence: 338
Perception: 507
Willpower: 175
Luck: 14
━━━
[Innate Skills]
Fateful Demise
Grand Machination
Leech Fate
Observe Threads of Fate
Fateful Severance
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Fateseeker... What sort of fucked up, broken class is that?! Uhtred shivered where he stood. Even the names of her innate skills were enough to make him lament.
Fateful Demise... Grand Machination... Leech Fate... Yeah, there’s no doubt about it... this elf girl is definitely here for me!
Towermaster Lorien had repeatedly mentioned "fate" to Uhtred during their talk. In fact, Uhtred’s entire existence was a result of fate... And now, here arrived a person — an elven champion — with a class specifically tied to fate?
Uhtred didn’t know how to react. He couldn’t decide whether to stay away from her, approach her, or just act normal and wait to see what happened.
Normally, he would lean toward the third option, but he found himself genuinely intrigued by her abilities.
Thinking it through carefully, he realized approaching her outright made the most sense. Even if, by some bizarre chance, she wasn’t originally looking for him, her fate-based affinity would have guided her toward him by now anyway.
Either way, we’re going to cross paths. So why not just get it over with?
The only thing stopping him was the figure standing right next to her. She wasn’t alone. Beside her stood a taller, far more physically imposing male elf, also cloaked in a hood. And his stats more than made up for the female elf’s lower physical attributes:
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[Name: Elion Silverwood]
[Species name: Elf]
[Level: 58]
[Core Grade: Legendary]
[Class Name: Supernova Archer]
[Core Rank: Nascent (Radiation and Stellar Heat Magic attuned)]
━━━
[Attributes]
Strength: 403
Agility: 401
Endurance: 400
Vitality: 406
Intelligence: 385
Perception: 690
Willpower: 299
Luck: 22
━━━
[Innate Skills]
Penetrating Starshot
Meteoric Volley
Supernova Arrow
Radiant Bow
Solar Flare
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Not only were the guy’s stats and level much higher than Uhtred’s, but he was also among the top twenty on the Scenario Leaderboard!
Elion Silverwood. He’s the very last among the top twenty, but he’s still within the top twenty regardless, Uhtred thought. He’s strong... really strong...
In typical fashion, a competitive spark began to bubble inside Uhtred. But he quickly quelled the urge and forced himself to focus.
You haven’t even set foot inside the city and you’re already looking to clash with a top 20 ranker? Rein it in, Uhtred. You have an objective here: figure out more details about the champions’ competition, and also see if Zara or White Raven left any signs in this city...
It had become a frustrating habit for him to set a plan, only for some chaotic distraction to derail him.
He wasn’t going to let that happen this time.
With his mind set, he brushed aside thoughts of the two elves and their motives. Instead, he turned his attention to the checkpoint at the city gates. The queue was moving quickly, and his turn was approaching fast.
He quietly observed the entry requirements. Two things caught his eye.
First were the adventurers. They completely bypassed the main line, needing only to flash a small medallion to gain entry.
Damn, maybe I really should’ve joined Jane and her party to return to the city, Uhtred lampooned as he compared how easy that would’ve been against the second method of entry...
Coins. Physical coins minted from what looked like a blend of diamond, gold, and low-grade essence cores.
The rulers of this world had apparently insisted on enforcing an archaic physical currency when something as seamless as Multiversal Tokens already existed.
Uhtred could understand their logic, though — it was likely a move to maintain total control over local trade. He had considered something similar himself back on Earth before discarding the idea. It was bound to spark heavy resistance and be a total nightmare to manage.
However, the rulers here had clearly long overcome that hurdle, and from the look of things, the system ran smoothly enough. But to Uhtred, who was accustomed to Multiversal Tokens, it felt unnecessarily convoluted.
Well, creating a physical currency simply means people are going to be carrying lots of coins around with them... which means...
His eyes darted covertly to the garbs of those in front of him. But it turned out that barely anyone carried physical pouches on their person.
The System gave every ascender a spatial storage, after all. Even though the space wasn’t large, people would naturally keep their valuables there and carry other less valuable things physically.
The only ones exempt from that rule were kids — children who hadn’t been integrated yet. Uhtred spotted one or two in the line with small pouches dangling from at their waists, likely an effort by their parents to teach them financial responsibility from their young age.
Fucking garbage currency system. Now I’m gonna have to steal a kid’s allowance.
Uhtred wasn’t proud of it, but he activated Slipstream Stride just as a rowdy party of adventurers was passing by him. He sped down the line and snatched off a money pouch from an oblivious kid before returning to his spot.
The aftershock of his movement was significant enough that it startled the entire line. Even the guards at the gates looked in their direction with suspicion.
Obviously, everyone pinned the ruckus on the group of rowdy adventurers closest to Uhtred’s side of the line.
A few guards came by to question what had happened. But at that point, Uhtred wasn’t paying attention to them any longer. His eyes were instead on the kid down the line.
The young boy had quickly reached for his pouch after the commotion and found that it was no longer there.
His eyes went wide in horror and regret. But before he could begin to cry, he felt something else hanging at his waist.
By now, his parents had noticed their son’s reaction and realized what had happened. The father was just about to give a hot scolding when the boy opened the new, lighter pouch he pulled from his waist.
Inside of it was a shining white crystal thrumming with faint essence.
Before anyone could look in, the father deftly snatched the pouch from the boy’s hands and pulled him closer, playing it cool so as not to draw attention to themselves.
Good. These ones have some sense. That Essence Crystal is worth way more than whatever measly amount is in the kid’s pouch.
Contented that the boy had been settled, Uhtred poured out his own loot and couldn’t help but frown.
One, two, three, four, five coins... What a shitty deal, he lamented internally. But in truth, he wasn’t really bothered. So long as this was enough to enter the city, then he had no qualms about the "trade."
He’d only just finished counting the coins when he felt the same gaze from before again. The elf girl was inspecting him.
What’s she doing? She knows I’m higher-leveled than her and it wouldn’t work, so why does she keep trying?
Or is she trying to draw my attention? Telling me she saw what I did?
Uhtred snorted internally.
Well, fuck you then. I’m not looking back or involving myself with you!
He remained focused and waited until the commotion settled and the line resumed moving again. And soon enough, he was next in line to be cleared for entry.
By this point, Uhtred had seen the proceedings required to enter. Thankfully, his five coins were exactly enough for the gate fee.
He paid at his turn, acting casual under the scrutinizing gazes of the guards — their auras put them at the Nascent Realm, though based on Uhtred’s estimates, they were definitely no higher than a Level 30 ascender for sure.
He was cleared for entry. And despite expecting something to suddenly happen, he entered the city without any issues.
"Finally, something that happens without any hiccups."
Uhtred had barely spoken the words when he felt a strange sense of deja vu. He distinctly remembered saying something similar some time ago, only for things to go downhill from there.
"Fuck me and my big mouth... I hope I didn’t just jinx myself."